Shortstop Rafael Furcal has unexpectedly returned to the L.A. lineup, which makes the team much more formidable in the postseason.  While his presence might not equal the arrival of Manny Ramirez it probably comes just about as close as it can get. 

Furcal batted leadoff and playedthe field in the Dodgers’ Game 1 win over the Cubs Wednesday night.  While he didn’t get a hit, he still made his presence felt by drawing two walks and scoring a run on James Loney’s fifth inning grand slam.  Even when he struck out to start the game he set the tone for the Dodgers by seeing six pitches from Ryan Dempster.  Los Angeles took a cue from Furcal and was patient all night drawing eight walks, and forcing Dempster to throw 109 pitches in just 4 2/3 innings.

Furcal is obviously a huge upgrade offensively over Angel Berroa.  Berroa has hit just .230 over the past three seasons with an OPS hovering right around .600.  Furcal has batted .293 in his three seasons as a Dodger with a career .794 OPS.  He also represents a sizable defensive upgrade at short with his strong arm and ability to cover a lot of ground laterally at short.

The main question will be Furcal’s health.  He missed 126 games with a bad back that required surgery during the season.  He has looked very good the past week, but it is something to monitor. 

Shortstop Rafael Furcal has returned just in time to help the Dodgers.